The Women Owning Adventure Travel Right Now

It's a through line in a lot of our stories lately: sometimes, it's good to be a little afraid before an adventure. Our editor in chief, Pilar Guzmán, wrote about it in her editor's letter, "It’s Only an Adventure If You’re a Little Terrified," for our third issue of the year, while Condé Nast Traveler's special correspondent Sophy Roberts grappled with the intense remoteness of Kamchatka, Russia's adventure playground. And this week, we spoke with Abigail Wise, Outside's online managing editor, and Judi Wineland, owner of tour company AdventureWomen, about pushing ourselves to embrace our fears, and what it means to take on adventure travel—historically a male-dominated field—as women.

Women are choosing mountaineering over pampering, and they don't mind going solo.

We also chat about adventures near and far (from rock climbing in your own backyard to meeting the Masai women), and call out late female explorers who deserve more shoutouts—like Alexandra David-Néel who traveled to Tibet in the early 1900s—and current ones leading the way, like dog-sledder Blair Braverman. But most importantly, we talk through how involving women—especially in women-only trips—can change the adventure travel experience for the better.

Thanks to Abigail and Judi for joining the lively conversation from New Mexico and New Zealand, respectively. As always, a massive thanks to Kerrianne Thomas for engineering and mixing the episode. Check back every Monday for the latest installment of Women Who Travel. To keep up with our podcast each week, subscribe to Women Who Travel on the iTunes store and if you have a minute to spare, leave a review—we’d love to hear from you.